Memory Consolidation during Waking Rest

Abstract

Recent studies show that brief periods of rest after learning facilitate consolidation of new memories. This effect is associated with memory-related brain activity during quiet rest and suggests that in our daily lives, moments of unoccupied rest may serve an essential cognitive function.

Keywords: declarative memory; memory consolidation; mind wandering; offline processing; resting state.

Figure 1.. An Experimental Paradigm for Testing the Effect of Post-Learning State on Memory.

Studies demonstrating that rest and sleep benefit memory often follow the general experimental paradigm outlined here (e.g. [–3,5]). After training on a memory task, participants are randomly assigned to engage in one of three general categories of post-learning condition: In Active Wake conditions, participants are engaged in sensorimotor activities that might include completing a distractor task, watching videos, listening to music, or leaving the laboratory to go about their daily activities; In Quiet Wake conditions, participants sit quietly and are not engaged in any overt sensory or motor activity; In Sleep conditions, participants either nap or sleep overnight, in the laboratory or home setting. Numerous experiments have established that post-training Sleep improves memory, relative to Active Wake control conditions. But here, we review new evidence that sleep per se is not required to achieve this memory benefit – states of Quiet Wake following learning similarly benefit memory, in comparison to Active Wake.